Sophia's Labyrinth of London - Missing Bloggers
by SarianaJ
Summary: Okay, from the first story the roles in the Sherlock verse are pretty well explained for all of the characters. The bloggers have been taken. Sherlock, Jareth and Sophia have been left with nothing but addresses and their (sometimes questionable) commonsense to find their bloggers, little do they know what lies ahead. There'll be guest appearances too form an unexpected source.
1. Realisation

Labyrinth of London : the case of the missing bloggers

"Sarah!" Jareth shouted for the twentieth time. Sarah had not been in her room this morning when Jareth had woken up and she wasn't anywhere in the flat. Jareth was starting to worry now.

"Eve! Where are you?" Sophia shouted next door. Sherlock added to the voices as he let himself in and started asking if John was there.

Sophia was the only one that relaxed as she found a note, which she could tell was written by Eve, explaining that something had happened in America and she'd gone to catch the first flight back that she could. Happy that Eve was safe, Sophia went to try and stop Sherlock and Jareth arguing.

As Sophia closed the door to 221C behind her, she bumped into Mrs Hudson. The two nodded to each other in understanding and they ascended the stairs, both of them standing in the doorway and shouting "BOYS!" Sherlock and Jareth turned to the two in the doorway and looked instantly sheepish as they saw Mrs Hudson, but their attentions turned to Sophia as the landlady went back to 221A.

"Where's Eve?" they both asked. Sophia rolled her eyes before she gave them an answer.

"She's been called back to America, apparently something happened." she told them as she wandered towards the kitchen to make some tea.

"Have you checked that?" Jareth questioned as he followed her.

"Not yet, I was too busy coming here to stop you two killing each other." she replied snarkily as she walked past him to get her phone. Jareth smirked as she walked away; already suspecting that he knew the answer.

Sure enough, Sophia joined the two consulting detectives several minutes later and announced that Eve hadn't been called back for any reason.

"Two of her co-workers are coming over here to find out what's happened. They should be here by this afternoon." she informed them, before she turned and walked back to her flat to get changed out of her pyjamas.

Sherlock's phone beeped a few minutes later, breaking the silence that had descended over them as they had begun to ponder the possible whereabouts of their missing friends. Sherlock pulled it out of his coat pocket as Jareth's went off, followed by Sophia's downstairs.

Without a word they all grabbed their coats and scarves and ran outside to catch a taxi, wondering why Lestrade wanted to talk to them all.

Lestrade said nothing to the three of them as they walked into his office twenty minutes later; he only pointed to the three small envelopes on the edge of his desk.

"Where did you get these?" Sophia asked, picking one up and handing it to Sherlock. Jareth took the one Sophia held out to him, leaving Sophia with one of her own. Had Lestrade not been so confused by the appearance of the envelopes and the missing halves of the duos, he would have laughed at the movements of the three people in front of him. It was as if they were synchronised and Lestrade smirked as he watched them all turn and examine the letter.

"You're not the type to laugh at us Lestrade" Sophia noted, seeing the DI's smirk as she flipped the envelope over.

"You're not usually the one to tell me that Sophia" Lestrade quipped. "Where's Eve? Or John? Or Sarah for that matter?"

Each black coat froze at the mention of their missing friend and the three of them ripped open the envelopes. They stared blankly at the cream pieces of paper inside, holding only an address.

"Perfectly formed letters, slight left slant. Right handed, middle aged woman." Jareth muttered.

"Block writing, indentations on points where the pen has been held in place. Some attempts at delicate writing which were unsuccessful, laziness... Man in his late forties." Sherlock added as he examined the note in his hand.

Sophia gave no explanation to the note in her hand; she just stared blankly at the back of the page. Something was bugging her about the writing, but she just couldn't place it. She also knew it linked to the tiny message written in the centre of the flipped note.

'You'll wish you'd never run'

She knew the information was somewhere in her cluttered mind, she was just about to find it when Jareth's savage snarl made her snap out of her reverie.

"Where does this lead to Lestrade?" Jareth snapped as he placed the note address-side up on the DI's laptop keyboard. Lestrade picked the note up and typed it into his computer, looking briefly as Sophia's phone went off in her pocket.

Sophia drowned out the commotion in the office around her as she listened to Eve's co-worker complain endlessly about not knowing where to go and time zones.

"Get in a taxi and tell the driver to take you and your boss to 221 Baker Street. I'll sort out the payment when me and my co-workers meet you there." Sophia snapped her phone shut after her order, hoping to avoid any further conversation with the annoying American agent.

"We have to return to Baker Street" Sophia told the three men as she turned back to them. Sherlock and Jareth nodded and walked out of the door, Sophia noted them trying not to run through the office.

"Thanks for letting us know these were here Greg. I'll explain later, as soon as I figure it all out myself, right now I need to go" Sophia said as she marched out of the office to follow Jareth and Sherlock. She stuck her head around the door a second later.

"Could you get Anderson and Donovan out of the way for me, they're stopping Sherlock and Jareth getting to the elevator and I sense blood will be spilled otherwise..." Sophia tailed off as Anderson's nose broke under Jareth's fist and began to bleed profusely.

"Never mind" she muttered as she went to drag Jareth into the opening elevator next to the one in question, walking past the two idiots, grabbing Sherlock's arm and pulling him along too.

Sophia glared at Jareth accusingly during the entire taxi ride from Scotland Yard to Baker Street.

"He deserved it." Jareth muttered grumpily under the teen's accusatory glare after several minutes, breaking the silence.

"I know Jareth, I heard the name 'Sarah' mentioned in his usual snide voice even though I was in Lestrade's office. Right now we all have other things to worry about than an irritated Anderson" Sophia explained. Jareth and Sherlock nodded in agreement as their thoughts drifted to their taken bloggers.

"That was fast" Sophia muttered as the taxi pulled up outside Baker Street. It snapped Jareth and Sherlock out of their thoughts and they climbed out of the taxi to get a better look at the two men standing outside 221 Baker Street, making all of their deductions while Sophia paid the driver.


	2. Help arrives

Sophia walked past Sherlock and Jareth and up to the two men standing by the black door of 221B Baker Street, pulling a key out of her pocket as she went.

"Good morning gentlemen. Would you like to come in and I'll bring you up to speed on what's happened?" the two agents blinked at Sophia for a moment as she unlocked the door, but the older one, obviously the boss, headed in with a nod to the teen. The second agent followed his boss up the stairs and Sophia turned back to Jareth and Sherlock.

"Are you going to stand out here for the rest of the day or are you going to help me explain everything to them?" she asked and the two detectives quickly walked past her and followed the two Americans up the stairs, leaving Sophia smirking as she closed the door.

Sophia walked into her own flat before she joined the four men upstairs, grabbing the coffee jar from the kitchen cupboard an taking it upstairs.

"Jareth and Sherlock, tea? Special agents Gibbs and DiNozzo would you like some coffee?" she asked and all four nodded. Sophia paused for a moment at the kitchen door as it became obvious there were three people missing, looking to the two other consulting detectives to see that they'd realised it too.

"What's that look for?" DiNozzo asked. He ducked Gibbs's hand as it tried to hit the back of his head and Sophia chuckled as she walked into the kitchen.

Sherlock turned his attention to the two NCIS agents sitting on the sofa, learning everything about them. Sophia snapped him out of it as she handed him his tea, giving the two Americans their coffee before perching on the arm of Jareth's chair.

"What's happened and how can we help?" Gibbs asked. The three consulting detectives looked to each other before Jareth began.

"Eve will have told you about Sherlock, John and Sophia, their relations etcetera. I think and act rather a lot like Sherlock, with a few extra talents fro-"

"From your time acting like the Goblin King from that 80s movie. Dramatic flair and glitter obsession" DiNozzo interrupted, stopping Jareth's explanation in its tracks.

"You have all seen that movie haven't you?" Tony asked, rather doubtful as Sherlock frowned.

"He doesn't realise, does he Jareth?" Sophia questioned with a smirk, Jareth shook his head to answer before turning to DiNozzo with an almost goblin grin.

"Anthony DiNozzo, I am no actor and that film is an appalling representation of the Labyrinth and me as the king I used to be. I may have lost my throne, but I have not lost control of a handful of goblins that would gladly bog you for me if you ever mention it again. Is that understood?" Tony just nodded as he continued to stare.

"I think you broke him" Sophia muttered.

"What happened to Eve?" Gibbs asked, ignoring DiNozzo as he had been the entire plane ride to London.

"Eve is missing, taken to be specific, along with Sarah and John" Sherlock answered, reaching for the envelope in his coat pocket but stopping himself before he pulled it out as he saw Sophia handing hers over to Gibbs and he pulled the sheet of paper out.

"Where does this lead to?" he asked as he handed the envelope back to Sophia.

"It leads to an abandoned warehouse by the river. Sherlock's and Jareth's go to separate warehouses, so they're not all being held together" Sophia quickly explained, getting to her feet and tying her scarf around her neck in the familiar motions.

Sherlock and Jareth finished their tea and the Americans finished their coffees, DiNozzo now snapped out of his daze, everyone grabbing their coats as they headed for the door. They separated into two taxis, Gibbs and DiNozzo going with Sophia to her location while Sherlock and Jareth shared a taxi as Jareth had to pass Sherlock's location anyway.

They didn't know it, but they were about to face one of their most dangerous cases yet to rescue their missing bloggers.


	3. Unexpected issues

Sophia just stared as the warehouse doors slid open, trying to take in what she was seeing. Her phone started to ring and she pulled it out of her pocket as Gibbs and DiNozzo stood beside her.

"Are you seeing the same thing I am Sherlock?" she asked as she put her phone to her ear.

"If by that you mean 'am I looking at a giant labyrinth in an empty warehouse?' then the answer is yes" Sherlock replied. He stepped across the threshold and an alarm sounded, cutting off as quickly as it began.

"That was weird" Sophia stated and Sherlock muttered his agreement as he walked further into the warehouse.

"Got to go Sherlock" Sophia said quickly as a voice started echoing around the warehouse.

i'Sophia Midnight, at the centre of this Labyrinth you will find Eve. You can leave freely with her if you find her within the ten hours, but if not...'/i

It stopped and the front doors of the giant structure opened.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" DiNozzo said as he marched towards the open doors.

Sherlock's own voice had given him the same time limit to find John, but now the only sound in the warehouse was his shoes as they walked between the brick walls.

The puzzles themselves were simple enough, but the riddles were getting on his nerves. Though he could solve them, he didn't enjoy having to try, especially knowing it was on a time limit. He personally thought they were pointless, except in situations like this.

Sherlock soon found himself facing another door bearing the same block writing as the others.

"Another bloody riddle" Sherlock grumbled as he read through it, closing his eyes as he tried to work out the answer that would open the door.

After five minutes his thought were interrupted by a voice on the loudspeaker, causing it to echo eerily around the warehouse.

i I'd stop wasting time Sherlock. Time is short and it's further than you think /i

Sherlock gritted his teeth as he looked up at the ceiling, pulling out his phone and calling Sophia once again.

"I need a riddle expert" Sherlock told her.

Jareth looked at the walls around him as he found himself in a dead end, which had closed itself off the moment he had reached the end, leaving him surrounded.

Jareth snarled and kicked at the wall the had slid into place behind him, but it didn't move so Jareth began to pace the small space he was trapped in, fully aware he was losing precious time.

"Now I see why so many of the runners got annoyed" he grumbled as he paced the small rectangle. "at least I didnt do this to them. I may drop them in an oubliette, but I sent Hogbrain to help them out of it"

iAre you finished moping yet Goblin King?/i

The voice on the loudspeaker made him look up at the ceiling, locating it by the doors he had entered an hour ago.

"Who the hell are you? I haven't been Goblin King for years! I'm sure the new Goblin King would love to meet you if it's royalty you're looking for!" Jareth shouted back.

i This is a matter of payback actually, someone you took a few years before Miss Williams' run which lost you your throne. /i

"You really want me to try and guess, don't you? My role was rather busy Mr Matthews, but I know which children you're talking about, but I don't think we have the same endings" Jareth grinned to the camera as he climbed the over the wall that had slid into place behind him. Jareth returned to running through the corridors around him, attempting to find Sarah at the centre.

There was an RV parked directly between the three warehouses, it was out of everyone's way, leaving the three occupants in peace as they monitored the three little labyrinths and the geniuses running through them.

"Oh, they're calling again" the youngest occupant of the vehicle announced as she watched Sophia pulled the phone out of her pocket.

They all tuned to the monitor in question and watches Sophia answer the riddle quickly and snap her phone shut again. Sophia shoved her phone back in her pocket and answered the puzzle in front of her, so the door slid open and she ran through, followed by the two men that were working with her.

"I told you she was good with riddles and puzzles" the youngest watcher muttered as the two elder watchers seethed.

"Sophia's almost at the centre. Do you want to get to the exit?" they asked the youngest. The young woman nodded to her parents and her father sat back in the driver seat, taking them to the first of the three warehouses they would have to visit again today.


	4. And a few answers

Sherlock looked at the four corridors around him and picked one at random. A little further down the corridor he realised he'd picked the right one.

"Almost there. Sturdier walls and more devious layouts mean the centre is nearby, they couldn't have built it from the outside in" Sherlock continued to mutter to himself for a few minutes as he continued along the corridor.

The corridor took a sudden turn and Sherlock faced a large grey door taken from a safe, he could see at least three different locks on the surface, even then he guessed there would be a few extra ones hidden on the Walls nearby that he would have to deal with before the door would open.

Sherlock glanced at his watch and saw he still had over eight hours left, but he knew not to chance anything and got to work.

Anthony DiNozzo stopped pacing and turned to the door at the sound of a definitive click. Gibbs and Sophia stepped back as the large safe door slid open, Sophia quickly jumped back as a gunshot split the air. The bullet narrowly missed DiNozzo and embedded itself in the wall.

It missed Gibbs completely and he ran forward to cut the string connecting the trigger to the swinging door, cutting it just before the next bullet left the barrel of the gun.

"Nicely done boss" Eve said. Sophia grinned to her friend and started picking her way across the tiled floor, DiNozzo was completely oblivious to Sophia's careful movements and tried to get to Eve in the middle of the room.

"NO!" Sophia and Eve shouted, stopped DiNozzo mid-step.

"Pressure plates on the floor DiNozzo, stay here" Gibbs ordered as he followed Sophia across the tiled floor. DiNozzo stayed put and watched his boss slowly cross to Eve in the centre of the room.

Sophia pulled a small knife out of her boot and cut the cable-ties keeping Eve in the metal chair. Gibbs gave Sophia a questioning glance and Sophia just shrugged.

"Eve came back spouting your rules, I just went with them" Sophia replied to the unanswered question and Eve just grinned.

"Thanks Soph, but you took long enough" Eve complained as she tried to get to her feet. Her knees buckled under the sudden weight and she began to fall forward.

Moving quicker than Sophia had ever seen, DiNozzo ran forward and caught Eve before she fell on the floor. Sophia cringed as the tile clicked under DiNozzo's weight and the floor opened up beneath them, dropping them all onto a concrete floor of a basement.

"DiNozzo" Sophia growled as she sat up. She lifted the metal chair off of her legs, allowing Eve to sit up at the same time. Eve snarled at DiNozzo and slapped the back of his head like Gibbs had a few seconds earlier.

"I told you to stay put DiNozzo" Gibbs stated as he got to his feet and looked around the small basement.

"I wasn't aware that warehouses had basements" Eve muttered absently as Sophia pulled her to her feet.

"As I was about to say before I was interrupted, it took us do long to get to you because we had to keep DiNozzo from killing us all" Sophia told her friend as they began to walk through the basement. Eve's laugh echoes in the almost empty room, bouncing off the bare concrete walls.

"Why am I not surprised I'd find you down here?" The voice surrounded them and in a second all three NCIS agents were armed.

Sophia closed her eyes and turned on her heel to face the owner of the voice, her knife in her outstretched hand.

"You?" Eve stared in disbelief a the owner of the voice. The figure stepped down the last three steps of the stairs and onto the light, confirming Sophia's suspicions.

"It's been a long time freaks" the figure said with a grin.

Jareth could tell that Sarah was close, a few feet away in fact. After all, who would put a safe-style door with so many locks on an empty room?

With a satisfying click the door swung forward, only to reveal an empty room. Jareth snarled and began to pace around the square room, knowing full well that it was the centre and that Sarah should be there, but she wasn't.

He caught sight of a glinting object above him and he looked up to see the shining object was the blade of a knife.

More specifically, the blade of a knife currently against Sarah's throat, held by the man on the loudspeaker earlier.

"It's annoying isn't it Goblin King? Thinking you've finally gotten your reward, only for it to be cruelly snatched away from you" the irritating man lectured, pulling Sarah along with him as he began to pace.

"What are you talking about? The twins returned home safely, I saw to it myself..." Jareth tailed off at the man's confused expression.

"Why don't you come down so I can tell you the truth?" Jareth shouted up to him. The man shook his head and began to chuckle.

"So you can take her and go, I don't think so. Besides, there are other plans in place" Jareth's sarcastic reply was cut off as something hit the back of his head and he dropped.


End file.
